Room To Improve: Dermot Bannon brings 1960s house back to the future

Dermot Bannon is impressed with Caitriona and Ross Boxshall.

As he explores the forever home he has created for the couple and their four children in Lucan, Dublin, he says: “I don’t think I’ve met clients like you for a long time. Instead of always looking at things as a problem, you always looked for solutions.

“Ross and Catriona got up off their backsides and understood the build.” 

That is not to say that build was without its complexities or complications.

Caitriona and Ross found their dream property, a semi-detached 1960s residence, 11 years ago. They purchased it in 2017, but two years later, have yet to move in and are renting nearby.

They have had several drawings done by architects over the years but never had the funds to get work started, they explain, on episode two of RTÉ One’s Room To Improve.

Caitriona, an Aer Lingus cabin crew trainer, and Ross, a stay-at-home dad, seek Dermot’s help, asking him to deliver a design on an initial budget of €197,500.

Covid delays, a sharp hike in material costs, and the effect of the pandemic on the family’s income throw the budget into disarray.

Undeterred, Dermot and quantity surveyor Claire Irwin work together under extremely tight budgetary restrictions.

Many compromises later, Dermot delivers the forever home Ross and Catriona have always wanted.

Dermot’s plan is to remove a side extension and add a rear extension — and it initially comes in just under budget.

“We know he’s not going to sacrifice the wow factor. We want him to push and push for the wow,” says Caitriona.

The downstairs bathroom.

They, in turn, end up convincing Ireland’s most famous architect, to embrace some of their more “radical” colour schemes.

“Once I started looking on the bright side of life, I said let’s go for it,” he says. 

 Because at first, Dermot is not too happy about the family’s passion for pink bathroom floors and suggestions for “electric” hues everywhere, and even meets Ross in a north Dublin office, to show how pops of colour are ideally paired with neutral backdrops.

'I think they're taking it too far. There's rules'

“They’ve got it into their heads that they want this house to be vibrant, electric, fun — all of that. I think they’re taking it too far. There’s rules,” says Dermot.

The Boxshalls’ statement downstairs bathroom is symbolic of many of the trio’s compromises. “People are going to love coming here just to use the toilet,” says Dermot.

A vibrant yellow carpet is part of the zingy colour scheme, all framed by a neutral wall palette.

And of the overall “playful” 1960s/1970s vibe, he adds: “What I hope I’ve put back into this house is that kind of energy and that kind of spirit, kind of having fun with things.” 

THE DESIGN PLAN

All of the light is to the front of the house, as is the green area the family love, so “what you need to do is focus everything to the front of the house because that’s where it’s going on”, Dermot tells them.

His design retains as much of the house’s internal structure as possible, making the most of its south-facing aspect and creating that all-important link to the green.

The kitchen is repositioned in a new extension to the front of the house. 

From here a full-length storage wall connects to the front to a new dining and living area overlooking the rear garden. 

In the middle of the house, a services bloc with a guest bathroom and utility creates a break in the open-plan layout, “making the living space feel a little cosier”, says Dermot.

A splayed wall in this bloc opens a view from the back of the house, flooding it with sough light.

Dermot Bannon with Caitriona and Ross Boxshall. Pictures: RTE

A new master bedroom is added to the three bedrooms upstairs, and a family bathroom is in the first-floor extension.

Caitriona and Ross are delighted with the result: “It’s like looking at somebody else’s house, admiring it, still,” says Caitriona.

Ross adds: “It’s just what we wanted.” 

Despite this, they are all “nervous about the budget”, they agree. 

But, as quantity surveyor Claire Irwin says, the overrun is less than they had anticipated halfway through the build.

BUDGET 

The budget has run to €241,000 adds Claire, and finishes up at €260,000, going €19,000 over budget. 

Claire factors into this the spend on extras such as the kitchen worktops and the glass splashbacks, a re-introduced en suite, a walk-in wardrobe, and flooring materials.

• Room To Improve airs on Sundays at 9.30pm on RTÉ One